Queen Of The Night
by Yuri-hime
Summary: In most Vampire tales, Shizuru is almost always the vampire. Let's try something a little different, shall we. Part 7 up after almost 2 years!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters of Mai Hime. They belong to **Sunrise**.

**Setting:** Alternate Universe.

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Speech - ""

Thoughts - _Italics_

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"I'm bored, Kuga. Let's go out and get a _bite_ to eat," Nao Yuuki said, as she blew on her long fingernails she had just finished buffing.

"No, Nao. Absolutely not. You _know_ the rules. No 'snacking' under my watch," Natsuki replied as she sat in her chair, one leg swung over the armrest.

"And that is why being a vamp in this city of Fuuka sucks. You won't allow _any_ of us to take a nibble from the humans. I mean, what's so wrong with a small bite here and there," Nao complained, as she got to her feet and and gave a cat-like stretch.

"No one is forcing you to hang around here. You could always head on over to Kyoto," Natsuki replied in a bored tone.

"Are you kidding me! That's werewolf territory! I'd sooner stake _myself_, than to hang out with Takeda and his hairy crowd," Nao stated, as she wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"Okay, then quit bitching already. You know the rules, no 'eating' humans. And you know that you can always 'snack' on the wildlife. I don't have any problems with that," Natsuki commented, as she also stretched out her body, and then slowly rose to her feet.

"Ugh, you're no fun at all. I'm going to go find Mikoto. I bet she's hanging out at that human Mai's restaurant again. I honestly don't see what Mikoto sees in her. I'd rather make lunch out of _her_, than eat the lunch that she prepares," Nao stated, as she began to make her way out of the parlor room, that she and Natsuki had been conversing in.

"You actually have a good point there, shocking as that may seem," Natsuki replied dryly, as she also began to follow Nao out of the room. "Vampires and humans should not mix together. It only causes problems down the road," Natsuki continued, as she and Nao made their way towards the front door of the mansion that they called home.

"Mm hm, better to just eat 'em and get it over and done with," Nao replied with a wide smirk, as she and Natsuki now stood outside the front door, in the twilight of the steadily-rising moon.

"You just won't give up on this whole eating thing, will ya? Why don't you head on over to one of the vampire blood banks, and get something to eat that isn't alive and screaming for help," Natsuki said over her shoulder, as she began making her way down the mansion's front steps.

"Aww, but that's just not as much fun. It's _much_ more entertaining to have my meals wiggling and screaming for their lives," Nao replied, with a wide grin that made her pointed teeth flash in the moon's shimmering light.

Natsuki rolled her eyes, as she began to head into the thick woods that surrounded their mansion home, set far away enough from the city and surrounding town that there were no prying eyes, but they were still in the general vicinity of Natsuki's domain of Fuuka.

"Whatever, Nao. Just make sure that whatever you do tonight, it _doesn't_ involve a human tragedy. When I took over 200 years ago, the residents of Fuuka were about to go up in arms to track down the 'blood-sucking monsters' that were terrorizing their human population. Now most humans here look at those stories as made-up legend. I've brought peace and stability to our race in Fuuka, as we no longer have to fear being hunted. Do _not_ make me regret turning you, Nao. You were dying when I found you, and you begged me to turn you when you saw what I was. That was a 100 years ago, and though it was...trying...at first when you first became one of us, as the blood-lust in you was _especially_ strong, you've been on very good behaviour for the last 50 years. So, let's continue to keep things that way," Natsuki stated, as she turned slightly to fix Nao with a glinting green-eyed glare.

"Lighten up Kuga, Ms. Queen of the Fuuka Vampires. I get it. Sheesh. A girl just can't have any fun when she's around you," Nao complained, as she and Natsuki walked up to a small building on the edge of the forest, but which was still completely hidden by the trees.

Natsuki pulled a key from the pocket of her black leather trench coat, and inserted it into a key-slot of a digital touch-pad, and then she quickly punched in a code. The touch-pad beeped twice, and then the wide door of the building slowly began to open, revealing a small garage inside with a fire-red convertible, and a midnight-black motorcycle sitting side-by-side inside it.

"Oh, sweet ride come to mama!" Nao exclaimed, as she ran her fingers along the side of the car, before hopping over the front door seat as the top to the convertible was down, and made herself comfortable in the plush-leather seat.

Natsuki snorted a little as she watched Nao caress the car, before she walked over to the motorcycle, and slipped her tight leather-clad leg over the seat. Natsuki let out a light _purr_, at the feel of the powerful machine between her legs, as she inserted the key she had pulled from her tight-red vest top pocket, and powered up the bike's engine.

"Alright Nao, I'll catch up with you later. Have fun, but not _too_ much fun if you know what I mean," Natsuki said, as she gave Nao a pointed look.

"Yeah, yeah Kuga. Don't get your tight leather pants all in a bunch. I'll be good. I promise. Scout's honor," Nao replied with a wide grin.

"You were never a scout," Natsuki grumbled under her breath, as she strapped on her helmet, and then watched Nao peel out of the hidden garage, laughing loudly at the top of her lungs. Nao drove the car down a dirt path behind the garage, and then screeched out onto a lonely road that eventually would lead into the city.

Natsuki let out a small sigh, before she allowed a wicked grin to cross her lips. Her emerald-green eyes glinted wildly, as she let out a laugh of her own, and screeched out of the garage behind Nao. She pressed a small button on the front of her bike, and the garage door came slamming back down. Natsuki then pulled on the handle bars of her bike, rising the bike up onto just its back wheel, before she dropped the front tire back down, and sped off into the night towards the city.

************

Shizuru waved goodbye to the grocery clerk, as she made her way out of the store's sliding glass doors. She had her little grocery bag full of fruits, vegetables, and her precious tea, and she was all ready to get back to her home to make herself something tasty to eat.

As she turned down a dark alleyway, Shizuru heard the distinct sound of footsteps falling heavily to the ground behind her. Sparing a quick glance behind her, Shizuru saw two males walking cockily behind her. One of them was lazily swinging around a chain, while the other walked with a baseball bat tapping lightly on his shoulder.

Shizuru's heart immediately began to pound with fear, as she quickened her steps to get out of the long alleyway, chastising herself for choosing to walk down it at this time of night.

The footsteps behind her began to pick up speed as well, and then the next thing Shizuru knew she was being slammed hard against the alley wall, her bag of groceries falling to the ground.

Shizuru felt as if all of the air had been knocked out of her lungs, as she stared into the cruel eyes of her attacker, with tears forming at the corners of her crimson-red eyes.

"Hello there, sweet thing. You're looking quite..._tasty_ tonight," the one who had the baseball and was choking her said. He then leaned forward and ran his tongue down the side of Shizuru's cheek.

Shizuru felt a shudder of disgust run through her, and she began to struggle fruitlessly in her attacker's grasp. Her attacker just tightened his hold on her neck, and Shizuru immediately stopped struggling as she began to choke. She instead focused on trying to breath, by bringing her small hands up to try to pry his much larger ones from her throat.

Suddenly her head was slammed back hard against the alleyway's wall, and stars exploded in her eyes, causing her vision to fade in and out. Shizuru was fairly certain that the back of her head had been split open, as she could feel the tell-tale sign of blood dripping passed her ear, and onto her shoulder.

"Why...why are you...doing this...to me..." Shizuru choked out in her thick Kyoto-ben, made even thicker by the lack of oxygen that she was getting into her lungs.

"Well you see darling, my friend and I are...new...to your city here, and he and I were feeling a bit...hungry shall we say. So, we decided to go out and find ourselves a little...snack," here the male before Shizuru smiled wide, and to her horror two very pointed teeth began to grow in the corners of his mouth.

Shizuru renewed her struggles to break free, but she was slammed once again against the alley wall, and her vision began to dim as her ears began to ring loudly.

_Please...someone...help me...someone...please...help me..._, Shizuru thought desperately as she began to black out, watching in helpless horror as her attacker leaned down towards her neck with his sharp pointed teeth.

Then just as Shizuru was about to lose conscious completely, a new voice echoed powerfully down the alleyway towards her and her attackers.

"Hey! Scumbags! You two idiots _must_ be new around here, because _everyone_ knows that messing with humans on _my_ home turf is strictly forbidden. Now, I'm going to give you two losers until the count of three to let her go _gently_, and then get your asses out of here, before I have to show you what happens to fools who wantonly break my rules. One..."

"Hey bitch! You can't talk to me and my buddy like that! Do you have any idea who and _what _we are!" The one with the death-grip on Shizuru's neck screamed down the alleyway at the person threatening him.

"Two..." the sound of knuckles being cracked echoed loudly down the alleyway.

"This bitch is crazy. Let's just fuck her up, and get this shit over and done with," the attacker with the chain snarled as he raised his chain before him, and then began swinging it threateningly.

"Three. Times up. Time to take out the trash."

"Whatever, bitch. Like you could even touch...OOF!" The attacker with the chain never got to finish his sentence, as the feeling of a solid knee to the gut dropped him in two-seconds flat. He hadn't even seen her move. That wasn't human speed. That was _in_human speed. And as the realization of just _what_ he and his buddy were dealing with dawned on his slow mind, he began to open his mouth to cry out to his friend that _his_ attacker was one of their **kind**. He never got the chance to however, as his own chain which had fallen to the ground beside him after the first hit, was now smashed _hard_ across his face, and as his body fell over backwards, his head cracked solidly onto the ground beneath him, knocking him out cold.

"Hey! Hey you bitch! That's my friend! I'm going to fucking tear you limb from...UGH!" The attacker with the bat went down just as hard as his friend had, when a roundhouse kick delivered with a heavy black boot nailed him solidly in the face, and he involuntarily released his stranglehold on Shizuru's neck.

Shizuru let out a loud gasp as she fell to her knees, her hands flying up to her bruised neck, as she desperately tried to draw in much-needed air into her lungs.

The sounds of fighting continued for just a few more seconds around her, and then there was utter silence, only broken now by the sound of siren's wailing in the distance.

_Someone must have seen what was happening down here in this alleyway and called the police,_ Shizuru thought hazily to herself, as she felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder.

Shizuru flinched away from the touch, and then almost pitched forward as the bleeding wound in the back of her head began to pound heavily, and her vision began to dim again.

"Whoa, whoa there. Take it easy now. I'm not going to hurt you. I just took out those scumbags who were attacking you. I'm here to help you, and we _need_ to get out of here. Now. The police are almost here," a velvety-smooth voice spoke softly by Shizuru's ear, as arms wrapped around her shoulders and under her knees, pulling her up into the air and against her rescuer's chest.

Shizuru could now feel that her rescuer was a woman, but she didn't have the energy to say anything as she was struggling just to remain conscious.

"Dammit! The cops are almost here," the smooth, magnetic voice spoke again by her ear. "Okay, now listen to me carefully. I can't get to my bike right now, but at least it's safely hidden away for me to come and pick up later. So, we're going to have to take a little...trip. I want you to wrap your arms around my neck as tightly as you can. Things are going to get a little bumpy.

Shizuru did as her rescuer asked, and weakly raised her arms and wrapped them around the person's slender neck.

Then the next thing that Shizuru knew, she and her rescuer had rocketed straight_ up_ into the air, and Shizuru could now feel the wind rushing past her face. Letting out a slight gasp, Shizuru tilted her pounding head slightly to the side, and was presented with a dizzying view of the lights of the city below, as her rescuer jumped from building to building.

Shizuru could no longer take any more of all that she had experienced tonight. Now finding herself practically _flying_ from rooftop to rooftop, was the final straw in a string of events that defied imagination and explanation.

So Shizuru finally succumbed to the heavy throbbing in her injured head, and passed out against her rescuer's chest.

Natsuki looked down at the now unconscious, chestnut-haired woman in her arms and she released a loud groan, as she realized that she would have to take the woman back to her mansion for treatment, as there was _no way_ she could show up at the hospital with the unconscious girl in her arms. The questions that would be asked were ones that she would _much_ rather avoid.

"Oh, Nao is _not_ going to let me hear the end of this," Natsuki muttered to herself, as she continued to fly past the moon as she made her way from rooftop to rooftop, heading in the direction of her mansion.

_Nope. She isn't going to let me live this one down **at all**._

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To be continued...?

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**AN:** Hope that you all enjoyed this! =D

I haven't stopped working on my others fics, but sometimes an idea will just latch onto your brain, and will _not_ let go until it's written. That's what happened here :p

Please let me know what you all think of it, and if you would like me to continue =3

_~Yuri-hime~_


	2. Chapter 2

Shizuru slowly awoke to the sound of two voices arguing heatedly with each other. She sat up slowly, and then quickly brought her hand to her still-throbbing head, realizing that her skull had been wrapped with a few layers of gauze.

Shizuru blinked a few times as her vision came into better focus, and she realized that she was looking up at a creamy-white ceiling from a reclined position.

Blinking her eyes a few more times, Shizuru carefully moved her head to the side, and looked over to where she could hear the two voices still arguing with each other.

"What were you thinking?! How could you bring her hear? Into _our_ home? She's a human for crying out loud!" One of the voices shouted.

"Would you please keep your voice down, Nao. You're going to wake her up," the other voice said in an exasperated tone.

"Too late for that," the first voice grumbled, and Natsuki quickly turned round verdant-green eyes towards her 'patient'.

"You're awake!" Natsuki said, as she quickly moved over to the couch that she had placed the chestnut-haired girl upon, after she had finished treating her head wound.

Nao let out a light snort, as she leaned her lithe body against a dresser in the parlor room.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Natsuki asked, as she stooped down before the couch, and looked into Shizuru's still slightly unfocused ruby-red eyes.

"I'm feeling...alright," Shizuru croaked out, as her hand then immediately flew to her bruised throat.

"Here, drink some water. You're neck is still pretty sore," Natsuki said as she reached out, picked up a glass of water from a small table beside the couch, and handed it to Shizuru.

Shizuru quickly began to drink down the cool liquid to sooth her throat, and began coughing violently when she drank too fast.

"Hey, easy now. Don't drink too fast. Your throat is still very bruised from last night," Natsuki said, as she took the glass of water back from Shizuru's slightly-shaking hand, and placed it back on the small table.

"Where am I? What happened to me? Who are you?" Shizuru asked as she painfully closed her eyes, and leaned her forehead down into her hand, as she tried to recall what had happened to her.

"You don't remember?" Natsuki asked with a curious tilt of her head, as she watched the chestnut-haired girl before her, strangely wanting to reach out and comfort her.

"Typical," Nao commented from her place behind Natsuki. "She has a head injury, genius. Obviously her memories are gonna be fucked up."

"Nao, could you do me a favour and just _please_ shut up," Natsuki said over her shoulder to Nao.

Nao just raised her hands in a gesture of surrender, and then continued to watch the unfolding drama before her.

Natsuki let out a sigh before she turned back to Shizuru, and finally gave into her urge to touch the other woman, by reaching forward and lightly tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Shizuru reacted like she had just been burned as she flinched away from Natsuki's light touch, and Natsuki felt a slight frown mar her face, as she quickly moved her hand away from Shizuru's face.

"I'm...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...you're the one who saved me from two men who attacked me last night...right?" Shizuru asked in halting Kyoto-ben, as she forced herself to look back into her rescuer's emerald-green eyes.

_They're such a startling shade of green. They almost seem to sparkle or glint with an inner light all their own,_ Shizuru thought hazily to herself, as she tried desperately to piece together the fragmented parts of her memory.

"That's all that you remember from last night? Just that you were attacked by two men, and that I saved you?" Natsuki asked carefully, as she tried to feel out if the other woman truly didn't remember certain aspects of the night before.

Like sharp pointed teeth, and soaring high above the city streets.

"No, I really don't remember anything else...is there something else that I _should_ be remembering? Something else that happened to me last night?" Shizuru asked almost anxiously, as her garnet-red eyes searched Natsuki's emerald-green ones for clues and answers.

"N...no...nothing else happened last night. I was passing by the alleyway, and I saw two guys attacking you. I rushed in and...dispatched them...and brought you back to my mansion to treat your head wound," Natsuki answered, as she averted her eyes from Shizuru's intense stare.

"You took me...to your mansion..." Shizuru trailed off, as she finally looked at her surroundings, and saw that she was indeed in a fairly large-looking building. "But why didn't you just take me to a hospital?" Shizuru asked curiously, as her crimson-eyed gaze found their way back to Natsuki's face.

"I uh...well...you see..." Natsuki started and stopped, as she tried to come up with a plausible enough reason to explain why she _hadn't_ taken Shizuru to a hospital, instead of bringing her all the way out to her mansion.

"This is all very sweet and touching, but I still have a question. When is she gonna leave?" Nao asked, all traces of earlier humour now gone from her face, as she stared directly into Shizuru's eyes.

Shizuru felt a cold shiver run down her spine, as the look that the red-head was giving her was one that made Shizuru feel like the other woman would like to devour her on the spot.

_But that's ridiculous,_ Shizuru thought to herself just as an image of sharp pointed teeth moving towards her flashed into her mind.

Shizuru shook her head lightly as the image faded just as quickly as it had come, and then she hissed in pain as that shake caused her head to throb again.

"Hey, you should lay back down. You're still pretty hurt, and you should get some more rest before we talk about taking you home. With a head injury like yours, you shouldn't be moving around too much yet. So just lie back down for a little bit more, and try to get a little more rest," Natsuki said softly, as she helped Shizuru to ease back down onto the plushy-soft couch cushions.

Shizuru allowed herself to be pushed back, as the softness of the couch beneath her head and body began to sooth the throbbing in her head, and she felt her eyelids begin to slowly close.

"Sleep now, okay. I'll be here when you wake up again, and I won't let anything else happen to you. Scout's honor," Natsuki said with a slightly crooked grin, as she once again moved her hand forward to brush a tawny hair from Shizuru's face.

This time Shizuru didn't flinch away, and she gave Natsuki a soft smile as she felt herself slipping down into a restful sleep.

"Thank you for saving me, even though I still don't know really know who you are...but I do feel strangely safe in your care..." Shizuru trailed off as her eyelids closed over her burgundy-red eyes, and she finally drifted off to sleep.

Natsuki let out a soft sigh as she watched Shizuru fall asleep, before she slowly rose to her feet and turned around to face Nao.

Nao crooked her finger at Natsuki in a 'come here' gesture, and Natsuki released another sigh as began heading towards Nao, and began following the other vampire out of the room. Natsuki spared one last glance in Shizuru's direction, before she left the human to her much-needed rest.

************

"Just what the HELL do you think you're doing, Kuga? Bringing that human here like this. You're breaking your own rules now. Remember those? Number one on the list tied with _not_ eating humans, not interacting with them personally either. Now you have Goldilocks sleeping on our couch downstairs, and I don't like it. What if she remembers what happened to her last night? She could cause _big_ trouble for us, if she discovers that there are real live _vampires_ living just on the outskirts of town," Nao exclaimed into Natsuki's face, as she had the dark-haired woman pressed up against her bedroom door, poking a red-nail-polished finger into Natsuki's chest.

"Would you _please_ calm the fuck down, Nao. She _isn't_ going to cause us any trouble alright. She doesn't even remember what happened to her last night, and with how hard her head was slammed against that alley wall, I doubt that she ever will remember. So just take a deep breath, and relax okay. I've got everything under control," Natsuki soothed, as she lightly ran her fingers down the side of Nao's face.

"Well, you didn't have to look so damned cozy with her," Nao grumbled under her breath, as she leaned into Natsuki's touch.

"Don't worry so much about such silly things, Nao. Everything is fine. I'll wake her up once night falls again, and then take her to her home. She'll go on with her regular human existence, and everything will go back to normal. You'll see," Natsuki replied, as she leaned forward and gave Nao a light kiss on the lips.

"They better," Nao mumbled, as she leaned forward into Natsuki's chest, and allowed the other vampire to wrap her arms around her.

"I promise, Nao. Nothing will go wrong, and I won't let anything come between us."

************

The second time that Shizuru woke up in her strange new surroundings, she realized that the room that she had been lying in was now fairly dark. She could see that night had fallen through a window opposite the couch that she was still lying in.

Shizuru sat up a bit, and realized with relief that her head was no longer throbbing painfully like it had been earlier. She had a low-level headache, but nothing that a couple aspirins wouldn't cure at this point.

_I really need to find my rescuer, thank her, and go home now,_ Shizuru thought to herself as she sat up fully on the couch, and then swung her legs around so that her feet were touching the ground.

"I see that you're finally awake," a low velvety-smooth voice spoke up in the dark across from Shizuru. The chestnut-haired girl jumped slightly, her hand quickly coming up to her chest to cover her heart, which was now pounding furiously.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Here let me turn on a light so that you can see," the voice came again, and then the room was flooded with light as a chandelier above Shizuru's head lit up, illuminating the room.

Now that she was able to see clearly again, Shizuru looked up into the jade-green eyes of her rescuer, as the cobalt-haired woman walked slowly towards her. Once she was near, Natsuki bent down before Shizuru and gave the tawny-haired girl a warm smile.

"How are you feeling now?" Natsuki asked, as she gazed into the jewel-red orbs that seemed to captivate all of her attention.

"I'm feeling much better now," Shizuru answered quietly, as she felt a light blush cross her cheeks at the intense look that she was receiving from the other woman. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, do you think that you could help me get back home now?" Shizuru asked softly.

"Of course, I will. I never intended to keep you here, forever," Natsuki said with a smile, and to Shizuru a strange gleam in her emerald-green eyes.

Shizuru let out a light laugh as she said, "I know. Keeping me here forever is just a silly idea."

Natsuki just let her smile widen a bit, and her eyes shone a bit brighter with that weird light.

Clearing her throat nervously, Shizuru began looking around Natsuki at the rest of the parlor.

"May I ask where your friend has gone? She didn't seem to like me very much," Shizuru said with a wry smile.

"Oh, Nao? Don't worry about her. She doesn't like most people. She went to go pick up my bike. I uhh...lent it to a friend," Natsuki answered with a slightly nervous smile, as she tried to avoid any and all references to last night's events, in case something _did_ happen to trigger the chestnut-haired girl's memories.

"Oh and by the way, I never did get your name," Natsuki said as she fluidly rose to her feet, held out her hand to be taken, and easy pulled Shizuru to her feet when she took Natsuki's hand.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Where are my manners? You've done so much to help me, and I haven't even introduced myself yet," Shizuru said in her soft Kyoto-ben as she turned to face Natsuki, and then dipped her head in a slight bow.

"My name is Shizuru Fujino, and I just want to thank you so very much for what you did for me last night. First rescuing me and treating my injury, and then allowing me to rest until I felt well enough to move on my own. I am deeply indebted to you," Shizuru said softly, as she kept her head lowered in a slight bow.

"Hey hey, no need for that. It wasn't any trouble to me at all. I _wanted_ to help, as how could I let a damsel in distress go unrescued," Natsuki said with a teasing smile, as she placed a finger under Shizuru's chin and raised those captivating, crimson eyes back up to meet hers.

Shizuru let a smile cross her lips, as she then asked, "and may I ask what the name of my knight in shining...leather is?" Shizuru asked in a teasing tone, as Natsuki lightly removed her finger from Shizuru's chin.

"Ah right, sorry. My name is Natsuki. Natsuki Kuga at your service, my dear damsel," Natsuki replied, as she gave a slight bow to Shizuru, who giggled at Natsuki playfulness.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my brave Natsuki," Shizuru answered, as she gave Natsuki a small curtsy, before covering her mouth to try to hold in her giggles.

Natsuki felt a wide grin spread across her face at the sound of Shizuru's laughter, as she straightened herself back up from her bow.

_She has such a beautiful laugh...and the most compelling pair of eyes I've ever seen. They're such a lovely shade of crimson red,_ Natsuki thought to herself, as she watched Shizuru finally calm down from her giggle fit.

"So, are you ready to go home, now? I can give you a ride home using Nao's car," Natsuki said, as she gave Shizuru her arm, and began leading her out of the parlor room.

"Are you sure you should do that? Won't Nao be upset with you if you take her car?" Shizuru asked worriedly, as she allowed herself to be led through the darkened mansion, and out the front door.

"Well, she went to pick up my bike for me, so there really isn't any other form of transportation available. Besides it really is technically _my_ car, as it's registered in my name. I just let Nao drive it mostly, since I much prefer riding my bike," Natsuki replied with a slightly crooked smile.

"Alright then, if it's not too much trouble I will gratefully accept a ride home from you, Natsuki," Shizuru replied as she gave Natsuki a soft smile.

"Your carriage awaits you then, madam," Natsuki replied with a roguish grin, as she began leading Shizuru through the forest on the short walk towards the hidden garage.

************

"Thank you for the ride home, Natsuki. And thank you again for saving my life. I don't think that I can ever thank you enough for that," Shizuru said, as she stepped gracefully from the red convertible, as Natsuki held the passenger door open for her. They were parked on the road right before Shizuru's small, but comfortable three bedroom home.

It was fairly late by this time, and Shizuru and Natsuki walked in comfortable silence up the path leading to Shizuru's front door. Once they were before the door, Shizuru turned to Natsuki and looked shyly into her emerald-green eyes.

"Would you like...to come in? I can make you some tea. I know that it's late but..." Shizuru trailed off nervously, as she didn't really know quite how to say that she wanted to spend just a little more time with the magnetizing woman before her.

Natsuki allowed a small smile to cross her lips, as she thought to herself. _Shizuru doesn't know that I'm a vampire, so she doesn't know that there would have been __**no way**__ for me to enter her home unless she invited me in._

"I would love to come in and have some tea with you, Shizuru," Natsuki replied with a wide smile.

Shizuru felt an answering smile cross her face as she opened her front door, and unknowingly let the vampire fully into her life.

After that first night, Natsuki would begin showing up every other night somewhere around Shizuru. Sometimes she would just randomly pop up when Shizuru was leaving the grocery store, and help the chestnut-haired girl carry her groceries home, where Shizuru would then make them a delicious soup, or some other tasty meal. And of course they would share some tea together, which had quickly become a tradition between them. Shizuru did ask Natsuki once why she only ever came to visit her at night. Natsuki's answer was that she was usually very busy during the day, and only really had time to come out at night. Shizuru accepted this answer as she was fairly busy herself during the daytime.

And all the while that Shizuru and Natsuki were steadily getting closer and closer, Nao was getting more and more furious and jealous. Natsuki tried to explain to Nao that she and Shizuru were just 'friends'. And that even though she was a human, Shizuru was the most interesting and compelling human Natsuki had ever met. There was just something that drew Natsuki to Shizuru, and made her break her own rules about vampires not interacting with humans.

Nao was _not_ pleased to learn any of this, and her anger continued to grow as Natsuki's every other day visits became daily visits. And a month after Natsuki and Shizuru first met, and began to get closer to one another...Nao finally snapped.

Nao made up an excuse, telling Natsuki that Mikoto was having very dangerous thoughts of turning her love-interest Mai into a vampire _without_ Mai's permission, and that Natsuki should go over to Mai's restaurant to have a 'talk' with Mikoto. Natsuki immediately agreed, and jumped on her bike to head over to Mai's restaurant and drag Mikoto away, kicking and screaming if she had to.

Once Natsuki had left, Nao let a cruel smile cross her face, as her vampiric teeth grew out to their longest length and her green eyes flashed with malice.

"It's time for me to pay a certain human _nuisance_ a little visit, and _finally_ have that meal that I've been craving for so long."

And with that thought in mind Nao set off for Shizuru's home, and she resolved to herself that Shizuru would never leave her home again...alive.

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**AN:** Wow! Thank you all SO much for your reviews! =D

It made me really happy to know that you all seemed to enjoy my idea of Natsuki being the vampire this time around =3

Please continue to review to let me know how you are all liking my story so far. I look forward to hearing from you =D

_~Yuri-hime~_


	3. Chapter 3

Nao walked up to Shizuru's front door, and knocked lightly against the wooden frame. After a couple minutes of waiting Nao finally heard the lock click, and the door eased slightly open.

Sleep-filled eyes framed by wavy chestnut locks looked out at Nao, and Shizuru tightened the knot on the front of her robe.

"Nao? It's quite late. May I ask what you're doing here?" Shizuru asked, as she canted her head to the side curiously.

"Can I come in?" Nao asked with a slight smile.

Shizuru stared blankly at Nao for a couple of seconds, before she moved back slowly and held her front door open for the redhead to enter.

"Of course please come in, Nao. I'm sorry if I seem a bit...out of it. It's quite late as you know, so I was already in bed about to fall asleep. And this is the first time that you have ever visited me at my home, so I'm a bit surprised...and curious as to this visit," Shizuru said, as she watched Nao saunter into her living room.

"Yes well, I had a little 'message' that I wanted to deliver to you, and I just couldn't wait any longer to do so," Nao replied, as she walked slowly behind Shizuru's living room couch, her bright-red fingernail trailing along the couch's top, as her light-green eyes watched Shizuru's every move.

"A message? For me? Is it from Natsuki?" Shizuru asked in a slightly shaky tone. Nao was for some reason making her feel _highly_ nervous, and she was beginning to wonder if she should have really let the other woman into her home so late.

"Never..._ever_...mention Natsuki's name from those despicable human lips again," Nao hissed, as she walked from behind the couch, and slowly began to stalk towards Shizuru.

"Nao, I think that it's time for you to leave. Whatever message it is that you have for me, I'm sure that Natsuki can give it to me tomorrow night," Shizuru said tightly, as she began backing away from Nao's rapidly approaching form.

"Didn't I just tell you to _never_ let her name slip past your lips again!" Nao screamed, as in the blink of an eye she was standing directly in front of Shizuru, and with one mighty swing Nao smashed her hand across Shizuru's face, knocking the chestnut-haired girl sideways. Shizuru slammed down hard against her coffee table, and she and it toppled over to the ground below.

Shizuru let out a loud, pained gasp as she tried to pick herself up, feeling a trickle of blood slip from the corner of her lips, as the side of her face throbbed where Nao had hit her.

Shizuru coughed out blood as she slowly and shakily rose to her feet, but she never got the chance to fully rise, as Nao rushed forward with her vampiric speed, grabbed Shizuru by the throat and slammed her hard against her living room wall.

Shizuru felt tears come to her eyes when her back and head hit the wall, and she stared down fearfully into Nao's smirking face.

"Nao...why are you doing this to me...what have I ever done...to you," Shizuru choked out, as she despaired to herself that she had once again found herself pressed painfully against a hard surface, with someone cruelly trying to choke her.

"Tsk tsk, Shizuru. Like you don't know what you've done. You've tried to _steal_ her away from me. Natsuki is _mine_, you little bitch. And you've come _way_ too close to my territory. Natsuki belongs to me. You got that!" Nao yelled into Shizuru's face, as she started to shake the chestnut-haired woman like a rag doll against the wall.

"What are you talking about, Nao! I haven't done _anything_ to Natsuki! She and I are only friends. You're attacking and hurting me because of some sick twisted delusion that I'm trying to take Natsuki away from you!" Shizuru yelled back, as she tried to fight Nao off of her. All Shizuru got for her efforts however, was to be slammed back again hard against the wall until stars exploded behind her eyes, and she stopped struggling.

"That's right...you shouldn't fight this...soon you'll be nothing more than a bad memory, and Natsuki will be mine once again," Nao cooed softly, as she brushed her cheek against Shizuru's, and in a mockery of a lover's kiss moved her lips lightly against Shizuru's neck.

Shizuru shuddered as she tried to weakly struggle away.

"Shh shh, it's going to be alright...the pain will only last for a few minutes, and then you will never feel anything again...so just be a good little human, and stay still while I drain you of all your delicious life-giving blood," Nao soothed gently before her eyes flashed wide open, and her vampiric teeth began growing out to their full bloodsucking length.

Shizuru's eyes widened in shocked horror, and the flash of a deeply suppressed memory flooded her mind, and she remembered the attack by the two men what now seemed like a small lifetime ago. The one who had been strangling her much as Nao was doing now, his teeth had also grown out to horrifying lengths as he had leaned down towards her neck.

"Oh my God...you're a...a..." Shizuru couldn't even say the word, as she just could _not_ believe that these monsters truly existed, and that she was being assaulted by one right now.

"A vampire? Why yes, my dear stupid human. I am indeed one of those 'blood-sucking monsters', that you humans have created many stories and legends about, secure in your foolish knowledge that we don't really exist, even while you secretly fear that we truly do. Well guess what...surprise! We _do _exist, and you are going to be my first human meal in little over half a century. Oh, how I have missed the taste of human blood, their life-giving force flowing sweetly down my tongue, past my throat, and into my body. It warms one up like nothing else in this world can. And you Shizuru, have the _honor_ of satisfying me tonight," Nao said with a cruel smirk, as she then began to lean closer to Shizuru's throat.

"Please...Nao...please don't...you _can't_ do this...you just can't!" Shizuru choked out, as she felt the pressure of Nao's lips press against her slender throat.

"Too late, Shizuru...I already have," and with those words Nao opened her mouth wide, and sank her teeth into Shizuru's neck.

Shizuru's mouth opened in a silent agonized scream, and her crimson-red eyes widened in excruciating pain, as she felt Nao begin sucking her life blood from her body.

However the pain didn't last for much longer than a few more terrible seconds, when the pressure of Nao's teeth sinking into her throat was suddenly gone, and the sound of a heavy scuffle reached her buzzing ears as Shizuru felt Nao's hands being wrenched from her body.

Shizuru slid slowly down the wall until she sat in a dazed heap on the floor, and then she looked up to see Natsuki and Nao facing off against each other in crouched positions.

Nao had her hands out and her nails had grown to the length of sharp claws, and she was hissing with her mouth open and her pointed teeth still bared.

Natsuki was in a similar stance except she didn't have the sharp claw-like nails, but she didn't need them as her very pose was highly intimidating. And Shizuru could now see in the moonlight that shone through the living room window that Natsuki also had sharp pointed teeth like Nao...and just like the two men who had attacked her a month ago.

"Na...tsu...ki..." Shizuru called out softly in slightly-broken Kyoto-ben, as she weakly raised her hand out towards Natsuki.

Natsuki's jade eyes flicked quickly over to Shizuru's battered form, and Shizuru saw a look of sorrow pass over her face, before her eyes hardened and she turned her gaze back towards Nao.

"If you do not remove yourself from this house and my sight _right now_ I can not be held responsible for what I will do next to you," Natsuki said in a deadly-quiet voice, that send a shiver of fear racing up Nao's spine.

"Fine, Kuga. Whatever. Come to rescue your little human pet again, I see. One day you're not going to be able to save her, you know. And she'll be _dead_, and there will be nothing that you can do about it," Nao hissed back, as she rose unsteadily to her feet. When Natsuki had arrived she hadn't held back in her power, and the punch that she had delivered to Nao's face still caused dark spots to appear before her eyes.

Natsuki growled long and low in the back of her throat, as she also stood up fully before she turned and looked over at Shizuru.

Shizuru started slightly, as she saw those intense emerald-green eyes turn to capture her wine-red ones, and Shizuru felt a shiver of fear race through her when she saw the sharp teeth still pointing out from Natsuki's lips.

Natsuki noticed the fear, and taking a deep calming breath she closed her eyes, exhaled, and willed away the outward appearance of her vampiric state. Almost immediately her pointed teeth began to shrink back down, until they were once again back to the length of normal teeth. Then Natsuki once again opened her eyes, and spoke softly to Shizuru.

"Shizuru, you have to uninvite Nao from your home. It's the only way to make sure that she never sets foot back in here again. Well, along with the fact that I will make her regret that day, if she ever did decide to come back here again," Natsuki said, as she flicked a quick glance towards Nao.

"Un...invite?" Shizuru asked in a softly-confused voice.

Natsuki let out a deep sorrowful sigh, before she moved slowly and carefully over to Shizuru, as one would to a frightened deer that looked that it would bolt at any second.

Once she was in front of Shizuru, Natsuki bent down and stared directly into her wine-red eyes. Shizuru leaned back slightly in fright, and Natsuki's heart clenched in pain as she realized that Shizuru was very much afraid...of her.

"Shizuru...the way things work is that if you don't tell Nao that she is 'not invited inside your home', because you had invited her to enter when she first came, she will be able to enter and exit your home at will. If you 'uninvite' her then she loses that power and ability to come into your home whenever she pleases," Natsuki explained softly.

"Does that also apply to you, Natsuki...if I tell you to never enter my home again...would you also have to leave...never able to return again," Shizuru asked softly, as she broke her gaze from Natsuki's now sorrow-filled one, and lowered her head so that her chestnut locks created a curtain that shadowed her face.

"Oh, this is rich! What did I tell you, Kuga? Humans are only good as meal tickets. So now your precious little human rejects even you. I told you that messing around with them, and breaking your own rules was the most fucking stupid thing that I'd seen you do in a _long_ time. Hurts doesn't it, Kuga...to be rejected by the one you truly like. I hope that the pain _destroys_ you...like the pain you've caused me almost destroyed me..." Nao said quietly, before she turned quickly on her heels, yanked open Shizuru's front door, and strode swiftly through it and out into the pitiless night. A whisper on the wind reached Nao's ear, and she heard the words "you are forever uninvited from my home, Nao".

Nao felt a small smile edge up the corners of her lips, even as silent tears fell from her light-green eyes, as she vanished swiftly into the night.

Once Nao had left, and Shizuru's front door had swung back shut on its hinges, Natsuki looked down at Shizuru's bowed head, and felt despair fill her entire being.

"Shizuru...I'm...sorry...I am so...sorry...I was going to tell you _everything_. That I was...a vampire...and that the night that I saved you, it was from two newcomer vampires who didn't know the rules of this city. The vampires of Fuuka do _not_ harm humans. That is the main rule that I established a very long time ago, and they broke that rule," Natsuki said, as she reached her hand down hesitantly to try to place her fingers under Shizuru's chin, to bring the chestnut-haired girl's face back up to meet hers.

Shizuru flinched away from Natsuki's hand, like she had the very first time that Natsuki had tried to touch her.

Natsuki let out a small sound of pained distress, but she gave Shizuru her space and moved back from the distraught human girl.

"How could...how could you lie to me...for so long...about something so _important_, Natsuki. I thought that you were my friend...that we...we...were best friends. That even though we had only known each other for such a short time, that there was a...connection...between you and I. How could you hide something like the fact that you are the _living dead_ from me? How could you, Natsuki!" Shizuru cried out, her head shooting upwards and her tear-stained, crimson eyes flashing with hurt and anger.

Natsuki's lips moved soundlessly as she tried to think of a way to explain herself to Shizuru, and knew that there was absolutely no way to explain something like this. Especially after all that Shizuru had been through in such a short amount of time, all because of Natsuki and her kind.

"Natsuki...until...until I can figure out and understand what I'm feeling about this whole...mess...and about...you...I don't think that we should be around each other anymore. I'm so...hurt...and confused, and my heart and mind don't know quite what they want to do with the knowledge that you're a...a...vampire. So please Natsuki, leave...leave and never...come back here again," Shizuru painfully choked out.

"Shizuru..._please_ don't do this. I can explain it all! I just _knew_ that Nao was up to something. And when I called Mikoto on the cellphone that I had given her, instead of going all the way out to see her, Mikoto denied _everything_ that Nao had accused her of. And she was so hurt and confused that Nao would even accuse her of doing something so horrible...of turning her human friend into a vampire without her permission. Mikoto would _never_ do something like that, and I _knew_ that she wouldn't. Once I realized what Nao was most likely up to, I quickly made my way over here to stop her from doing what I feared she was planning to do to you. But all of us are _not_ like that, Shizuru! _I'm_ not like that...I would never..._ever_...hurt you. You have to believe me, Shizuru...you just...have to..." Natsuki pleaded desperately.

Shizuru averted her eyes from Natsuki's pleading gaze, and replied in a broken whisper, "I believe you, Natsuki...but...please...I still need time...I can't...I can't process all of this right now...so just please...go...go and give me some time to decide what I should do about you...me..._us_...and our friendship..." Shizuru begged softly, as she looked up once more into Natsuki's pain-filled eyes.

"Okay, Shizuru...for you...and our friendship...I will leave and not return, until you have decided whether or not you ever want to see me again," Natsuki replied with a painful swallow.

Shizuru lowered her eyes and mutely nodded her head, before she felt the whisper soft press of lips against her forehead. She didn't flinch away from the touch this time, and felt more than saw Natsuki rise to her feet, and slowly make her way over to the front door.

Staring down at her tightly-clenched fists and refusing to watch as Natsuki possibly walked out of her life forever, Shizuru heard Natsuki whisper softly to her.

"Goodbye, Shizuru."

Then Shizuru heard the front door click shut with a finality that finally caused her tightly-held mask to shatter, and Shizuru collapsed in on herself as she sobbed out the pain of her broken heart.

**

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**AN:** Oh, that last part of the chapter was _hard_ for me to write D:

But dun worry! ShizNat will _always_ prevail ;3

Hope you all liked, even despite the necessary angst :p

So, please leave me a review, and let me know what you all thought =3

And thanks as always for the reviews for my last chapter! You guys rock =D

_~Yuri-hime~_


	4. Chapter 4

Two days after the debacle at Shizuru's home, Natsuki found herself sitting on the edge of a tall building overlooking the busy nighttime city streets, her mind not really focusing on anything much, just kind of drifting as she watched the humans walking below her.

She let out a deep sigh and looked up at the full moon hanging heavy in the midnight sky, before the soft sounds of footsteps coming up slowly behind her came to her ears.

Natsuki looked briefly over her shoulder as she had already identified who her visitor was by their presence, and she waited patiently for the person to come forward until they were standing beside her seated form.

"Natsuki, did something bad happen? Nao is gone...she hasn't come back to the mansion in days, and neither have you. I'm...lonely...all alone there without you two. What happened...?" Mikoto asked in a small voice, as she sat on the edge of the building beside Natsuki.

Natsuki raised her hand and gently ruffled Mikoto's silky black hair, and Mikoto let out a light purr at the attention.

"Sorry I haven't been around much, kiddo. Yes, something did indeed happen...something very...unpleasant. And it involved Nao and the human whom I had become friends with, Shizuru," Natsuki replied as she slowly lowered her hand, and turned her face back to stare off into the sky.

"Did Nao try to eat her?" Mikoto asked in innocent curiosity.

Natsuki cringed a bit at the word 'eat', but nodded her head nonetheless.

"Yeah...unfortunately she did," Natsuki answered back, as she ran her fingers through her flowing locks in agitation.

"I bet your human friend Shizuru, wasn't very happy with that," Mikoto replied, as she began to idly swing her legs back and forth against the edge of the building.

"No...no she most definitely was _not_ happy with it," Natsuki said with a grimace. "Most especially the part where she found out that I was a vampire...I don't think that she'll ever forgive me for deceiving her like that," Natsuki said with a sad shake of her head. She then surged to her feet, stepped back from the edge of the building, and began pacing back and forth in agitation across the rooftop.

"But it's not like I deceived her on purpose! I just...I mean...how does one tell another that they are the living dead! That I have been alive for almost 300 years, and that while I abstain from attacking humans to drink their blood, I still _do_ drink blood. Just how did she expect me to tell her about something like that? Argh!" Natsuki cried out to the uncaring night sky in frustration, as she kicked her booted foot against the hard rooftop.

Mikoto watched Natsuki attack the rooftop with her cat-like golden eyes, not saying anything as she let the other vampire express her extreme frustration and displeasure with the whole situation.

Then lithely rising to her feet Mikoto walked slowly over to Natsuki, who was now just looking at the rooftop with a deep scowl on her face.

Mikoto then slowly wrapped her arms around Natsuki, and gave the ebony-blue haired woman a tight hug. Natsuki started a bit as she felt the younger vampire's arms wrap around her waist, but then she relaxed into Mikoto's embrace.

Letting out a quiet sad chuckle, Natsuki brought her hand to Mikoto's head once again, and gently stroked the girl's dark locks.

"Thanks Mikoto, I needed that," Natsuki said softly, as she continued to lightly brush her fingers through the hair of the young vampire that she thought of as a little sister.

"Natsuki shouldn't be so sad. Natsuki should try talking to Shizuru, and try to become friends with her again. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose Mai's friendship. Natsuki should try extra hard to get Shizuru's trust back," Mikoto said, as she turned those bright golden eyes up towards Natsuki.

Natsuki looked down into Mikoto's eyes in mild surprise, before she let out a quiet chuckle.

"You know what kiddo, you're right. I should try to make amends with Shizuru instead of just moping around here. But I think that I'll give her a few more days, and if she still hasn't decided to forgive me, I'll do my extra best to get her to. Thanks for the good advice, kiddo," Natsuki said with a light grin at Mikoto, as the younger vampire stepped back from her hug.

"It's best when Natsuki is smiling and happy!" Mikoto replied, with a huge grin on her face.

Natsuki laughed loudly as she reached forward and ruffled Mikoto's hair, before she and the younger vampire made their way to the edge of the rooftop, then leapt off of it and began making their way back home.

************

Four days had past since 'the incident', as Shizuru was now calling it in her mind, and she had sorted through everything over and over again in her thoughts, and had come to one conclusion. That even if her best friend _was_ a vampire...and just that thought alone was a bit frightening and unreal...Natsuki had been nothing but the most amazing and loyal friend that Shizuru had ever had. Natsuki had even selflessly saved her from two separate vampire attacks. Shizuru could do nothing but forgive Natsuki for keeping such a dark secret away from her.

But what was most important of all, Shizuru just _truly_ missed the emerald-eyed woman. She was so used by now to having Natsuki's soothing presence by her side, whether the two of them were quietly sipping tea together, or watching a movie on the living room couch, as they laughed quietly with each other at what was on the screen. Or even when the two of them just going out for a midnight stroll through the park on the edge of the city. Which was where Shizuru found herself right now. She had felt lonely in her home, and was missing the dark-blue haired woman terribly, so she had decided to come to one of their favourite spots.

It was fairly late at night, so there wasn't anyone else in the park at this time. Shizuru sat down on a park bench beneath a park light, and gave a small stretch to work the slight kinks out of her body. Then releasing a soft sigh Shizuru closed her eyes, and just relaxed back against the bench as she made the decision in her mind to give Natsuki a call on her cellphone the next day. It was high time for them to reconcile.

Shizuru allowed a soft smile to cross her lips at this thought, and then decided that it was truly getting late and that she should probably head back home. But no sooner than Shizuru had gracefully risen to her feet, than the sound of a deep growling laugh came suddenly to her ears.

Shizuru snapped her head towards the sound, her heart beginning to pound furiously. Her burgundy eyes searched out the darkness beyond the park light, straining to see who...or _what_...was out there.

The sound of a low growl suddenly came from behind her, causing Shizuru to whirl around quickly, and she herself standing before a tall male with two-toned, sandy-blond hair and light brown eyes. And standing beside him was another tall male, this one with dark spiky hair and piercing green eyes.

Shizuru let out a loud gasp as she stepped back and away from the two males, before regaining her composure and speaking to the two men in her lilting Kyoto-ben.

"Goodnight to you, gentlemen. I was just about to take my leave. I hope that you two have a good rest of the night." And with these words spoken, Shizuru tried to step past the two men to make her way out of the park, and back towards her home. However the sandy-haired male stepped to the side also and blocked her path. Shizuru looked up into the man's brown eyes and frowned with displeasure, even as her mind began working furiously trying to figure out a way to get out of this situation.

_Just how do I keep on ending up in bad situations like this,_ Shizuru lamented quietly to herself, as her crimson eyes began flashing around quickly, as she tried to find another path to make her way through.

Suddenly the dark-haired male moved swiftly until he was standing directly behind Shizuru, and she now found herself sandwiched between the two men.

When she looked back up into the face of the sandy-haired blond, a wide grin split his face and horrifyingly long canine teeth jutted out from his lips.

Shizuru felt a shudder run down her spine, and she took an involuntary step backwards...and stepped right into the arms of the other male standing behind her.

Shizuru immediately began to struggle, but the arms around her tightened painfully, and she let out a soft pained gasp as she reluctantly stopped trying to escape his tight grip.

"That's better, my dear. Don't struggle like that. It's completely useless. As much as I like my meals alive and wriggling, I don't want such a delicate flower as yourself being damaged...prematurely," the one holding her breathed hotly into her ear.

Shizuru cringed her face away from his, and then turned steeled eyes towards the one before her, as she began to speak.

"What is it that you two want? But wait, let me guess...judging by how unnatural and sharp your teeth look, I would have to say that you two are vampires looking for a quick 'meal'."

Shizuru saw the two men exchange quick glances over her head, before they burst out laughing.

"Vampires! You think that we're _vampires_?" the one before Shizuru exclaimed, holding his stomach as he tried to keep his laughter in.

"No, you stupid wench. Takeda and I are _not_ vampires. We're werewolves," he stated, as he revealed his terrifying teeth in a wide grin again, and Shizuru saw now that while his teeth were sharp and pointed, they weren't elongated as far down as she had seen Nao and Natsuki's.

_Natsuki..._Shizuru thought desperately to herself, as she wished that the dark-haired woman were here with her now.

_I'm so sorry Natsuki...now I may never get the chance to say those words to you...or that I forgave you almost the same instant that I watched you walk away from me...I wish that I could see you again right now..._

"Yo Tate, now that we got that bitch vampire Natsuki's human, we should send her a message that we've captured her," the werewolf named Takeda said, as he continued to hold Shizuru tightly against his chest. The two werewolves had by now moved out from under the park light, and now held Shizuru in the darkness by the edge of the park.

_I can't believe that in the space of a month I've met and interacted with __real__ vampires, and now I'm trapped by werewolves. How did all of this happen to __**me**__? And wait...did he just say __**Natsuki's**__ name,_ Shizuru thought distressedly to herself.

"What do you want with Natsuki?" Shizuru asked, as she stared long and hard into the eyes of the werewolf named Tate.

"That's none of your concern, human. All you need to worry your silly little head about is being good bait. And a very good bait you will make," Tate replied, as he leaned forward and brushed his nose against Shizuru's cheek, sniffing loudly as he inhaled her delectable scent into his lungs.

Shizuru turned her face away from his as best she could, and tried to school her features into one of total indifference. She would _not_ show these...these...**monsters**...just how scared she truly was inside.

_Oh Natsuki, I'm going to get you involved in something terrible, all because of my penchant for going out so late at night. If I ever get out of this, I will **never** set foot outside my home again any time later than 8pm...unless of course you are there with me._

"I'll send the so-called 'Queen' the message that her favourite toy, the human that she has grown so find of, has been taken by us. And that if she ever wants to see her precious human safe and sound again, she better relinquish _all_ control of Fuuka to the werewolves of Kyoto. It was just too much of a perfect opportunity to wrest control of this city from that bitch, when we heard through the underground networks that the 'Queen' had become enamored with a mere human. Too long has she kept us out and away from this city. But after tonight, it shall be ours!" Tate exclaimed, as his brown eyes flashed with an eerie light that send a fearful shiver racing down Shizuru's spine.

_Just what have I gotten myself and Natsuki into,_ Shizuru lamented to herself, as she felt the arms around her tighten painfully once more.

"Oh, and knock her out. Last thing we need is the bait screaming for help, and causing us undue trouble," Tate said dismissively to Takeda.

Takeda let a snarling smile cross his face as he let out a low growl, before his hand came up swiftly and slammed into the back of Shizuru's head.

_Natsuki!_ Shizuru cried out silently, as her vision swiftly faded to black.

************

Natsuki and Mikoto were back at the mansion, Mikoto in the kitchen happily enjoying a bowl of icecream. Natsuki was sitting in the parlor room, on the same couch that she had placed Shizuru on when she had rescued the chestnut-haired girl the first time.

_I miss her..._Natsuki thought to herself, as a sad smile worked its way across her face. But before Natsuki could go any further into her lonely musings, a loud knock came from her front door.

_Shizuru!_ Natsuki's mind instantly cried to itself, as the midnight-blue haired vampire surged to her feet, and quickly made her way to the front door. Natsuki didn't waste any time looking through the peephole to see who it could be, she just flung the door wide open, positive that it was Shizuru waiting for her on the other side.

Natsuki was hugely disappointment however, as not only didn't she see the tawny-haired woman, but she didn't see anyone at all standing on her doorstep.

Natsuki frowned slightly as she looked around for whoever had knocked on her door, and she was about to slam her door shut in annoyance when her sharp green eyes shifted downwards, and she saw a small folded note laying on the doorstep.

Bending down and picking up the small piece of paper, Natsuki straightened back up and quickly flipped the note open, her verdant-green eyes rapidly scanning its contents.

Natsuki's eyes then widened and a loud growl escaped her lips, before she crushed the paper into a tight ball in her fist. She then dropped the paper back onto the doorstep, as she slammed her front door shut and began running deep into the woods, heading in the direction of Kyoto.

As Natsuki ran swiftly through the trees, leaping high above the branches when she needed to clear a section of forest faster, her mind flashed furiously to what was written in the note.

**We have your woman. The Kyoto human. If you want her back safe and unharmed then you better follow my instructions perfectly. Come alone. Meet us at the edge of the forest that separates Fuuka from Kyoto. Bring no weapons. If you disobey any of these rules, the human will die. You have my word on this.**

**-Tate, Leader of the Kyoto Werewolves.**

Natsuki let an infuriated cry burst from her throat, as she continued dashing swiftly through the forest, her only thoughts being to reach Shizuru, and make sure that the human woman _never_ came to harm again.

_Don't worry Shizuru, I'm on my way...I'll save you...I swear it...I'll save you..._

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**AN:** Thank you all for reading and especially to those who took the time to review my last chapter! You guys are awesome =D

Please let me know what you all thought of this chapter =3

_~Yuri-hime~_


	5. Chapter 5

Shizuru opened her eyes to find her back pressed up against the hard bark of a tree, and her hands tied tightly with a piece of rope that stretched her arms high above her head.

She blearily blinked her crimson-red eyes, and was presented with the cruelly-grinning face of the werewolf who had been called Tate earlier.

"My my, but you are a sweet and pretty little thing. It's no wonder that Natsuki is so enamored of you. Why if it wasn't for the fact that I need you as my bait, I think that I would try to find out myself why that bitch vampire finds you so...special," here Tate leaned forward, and licked her tongue up Shizuru's neck and into her ear.

In response, Shizuru took her leg and swiftly kicked the werewolf squarely between the legs.

Tate let out a strangled cry, as his hands immediately went to his injured lower area, and he stumbled back painfully as he growled fiercely at Shizuru.

Takeda let out a massive laugh from his place somewhere behind Tate, and Tate quickly flashed killer eyes at his subordinate and friend.

"One more laugh out of you and I will _forget_ that we are friends, and I will kill you where you stand," Tate hissed out as he straightened back up to his full height, now with only a slight twinge of difficulty.

Takeda immediately stopped laughing, and quickly shut his mouth.

"And you, you little bitch! I'm going to make you regret doing that," Tate snarled furiously as he strode forward, and raised his hand to strike Shizuru hard across the face.

He never got the chance to however, as there was a swiftly moving blur of action before him, and Tate suddenly found himself reeling backwards, holding his jaw where something hard and heavy had just smashed into it.

When he looked back up, Tate let a nasty growl work its way up past his throat and out passed his lips, as he watched Natsuki slowly lower her booted foot from a drop-kick position.

The azure-haired woman now stood before Tate, her jade eyes flashing with barely controlled fury, and her vampiric fangs hung sharp from her lips.

"Come near her again and I will not only kill your sorry ass, but I will make you suffer in the most indescribable ways before I end your pitiful life," Natsuki sneered, as she stood protectively before Shizuru.

Shizuru felt tears prick the corners of her eyes, as she watched Natsuki stand so straight and proud, defending her like no one else in her life ever had.

_You truly are my one and only knight, Natsuki..._

Takeda had by now moved forward, and both he and Tate were in crouching positions as they faced off against the vampire.

"Nice to see that you've finally made it to the party. You're little human pet and I were just about to get better...acquainted," Tate sneered, as his light-brown eyes shifted and began to flash more yellow than brown, and his werewolf side began to come out more. His fingers curled in on his hands, and when he straightened them back out they were more like claws than hands.

Takeda had gone through his own transformation, and now he and Tate stood beside each other, lightly bouncing on the balls of their feet as if ready to pounce any second, with their canines grown out completely as they snarled at the pair before them.

Natsuki stood straight facing both Tate and Takeda wondering just what the two werewolves were planning to do next, and just how she was going to get Shizuru out of this situation.

Suddenly Tate rose fully to his feet from his crouch, and his clawed hands shrunk back until they were back to their previous form. Takeda followed his lead, and both werewolves fully reverted back to their more human forms, though both retained the longer and sharper canine teeth in their mouths.

"Forgive me, I almost lost myself for a minute. Despite what you accursed vampires seem to think, those of my kind and I are _not_ slobbering beasts. We know how to conduct ourselves when we are transacting a little...business," Tate said, as his eyes reverted from their glimmering yellow, back to their more human light brown.

Natsuki let out a short snort of derision as she said, "business...you call this _business_? Well if so, then _I_ now hold all of your cards. Shizuru is now back under my care, and I will _not_ allow you two sniveling simpletons to lay a hand on her again!" Natsuki cried as she backed up a bit, and pressed her back protectively against Shizuru's front.

Shizuru felt Natsuki press lightly against her, and despite the very dangerous situation that she and the dark-haired vampire were in, Shizuru couldn't help a slight shiver of pleasure from rushing down her spine.

_For me...for me Natsuki is ready and willing to risk so much...how do I ever repay her...how do I ever make you feel as cared for, special, and important as you are making me feel right now,_ Shizuru asked the proud back before her, as she silently marveled at the strength so apparent in both Natsuki's words and body.

Tate let out a loud laugh, which Takeda soon copied as he did just about anything that his pack leader did or told him to do without question.

"You really _do_ think that you're in charge of this whole situation don't you? Well here, let me do you a favour and allow you to free your human. Go on. I promise that I won't make any sudden moves against you two. You have my word as leader of my pack," Tate said with a slight smirk towards Natsuki.

Natsuki's emerald-green eyes narrowed in suspicion at the still-smirking werewolf, but she wasn't about to let this opportunity pass.

Natsuki turned her body slightly away from the werewolves to face Shizuru, though never taking her eyes off of the two lupines. Natsuki then slowly rose her hand, and lightly trailed it down the side of Shizuru's cheek, as she gave the other woman a tender smile.

"I'm sorry that association with me and my kind seems to always get you involved in bad situations like this, Shizuru. If I could make sure that nothing and no one ever harmed you again I would! Will you ever forgive me for allowing my best friend to be involved in so much pain and trouble?" Natsuki asked Shizuru softly as she lightly trailed her fingers from Shizuru's cheek, and upwards to the knot that tied Shizuru's hands to the rope.

Natsuki then slipped her fingers into the knot and easily with her vampiric strength, ripped the cords of the rope apart one-handed, and Shizuru slowly lowered her arms. Natsuki was then surprised when Shizuru wrapped those same slender arms around Natsuki's neck, and buried her face against Natsuki's neck.

"Forgive me for not seeing what I had always known, and for driving you away from me. You are _not_ like the monstrous creatures of the night that I always thought were fantasy and myth. You are _Natsuki_. My dear sweet friend, and it is _your_ forgiveness that I now ask for, as you have never done anything that needed forgiving," Shizuru whispered softly against Natsuki's neck, and she felt the swallow as Natsuki tried to quell the swell of emotion that rose up in her.

"Then there is nothing for either of us to ask forgiveness for, as I would never blame you for reacting as any other person would. And I promise you Shizuru...I _promise_ you...that I will get us out of this mess. I will let nothing and no one _ever_ harm you again. I give you my word on this. And my word is my honour and my life," Natsuki replied softly, as she placed a chaste kiss on Shizuru's forehead.

Shizuru tightened her grip on Natsuki's neck briefly, before she leaned back from her embrace and gave Natsuki a soft smile. Natsuki returned it with one of her own, which immediately turned into a frown when she heard loud clapping coming from the direction of the werewolves.

Tate was still standing where he originally was, clapping his hands slowly and condescendingly, as he watched Natsuki and Shizuru's reunion with that same infuriating smirk that he had earlier. Takeda, of course was following along with his leader and clapping as well, though he immediately stopped when Tate did.

"My my, what a touching scene that was. Do tell me, Natsuki? Is she as delectable to taste and touch as you make it seem? Perhaps I should try to find out for myself," Tate said, as his slight smirk widened to a full-on cruel grin.

Natsuki snarled deep in her throat, as her vampiric teeth and flashing-green eyes once again reappeared, after they had vanished when she had turned to face Shizuru.

"I already told you once, you sick bastard! Come _anywhere_ near Shizuru again, and I'll kill you and make you suffer miserably for it," Natsuki cried with a ferocious scowl.

Shizuru found herself fascinated with the fact that despite the last time that she had been so close to Natsuki's vampiric transformation, that this time around she felt absolutely no fear.

"Yes yes, you've already threatened me with the most painful bodily harm ever imaginable. Whoop-dee-fucking-la. You still seem to fail to understand that _I_ am the one who still has the upper-hand, and that it is _you_ who will be made to suffer and die tonight, my dear 'Vampire Queen'. And when I kill you, I shall take over this city, and I will then control both Kyoto and Fuuka. And there will be _no one_ strong enough to stop me and my pack from ruling!" Tate cried, as he allowed his grin to spread wildly across his face.

"You're mad," Natsuki said quietly as she continued to eye Tate and Takeda, ever vigilant for them to try to make a move against her and Shizuru.

And that move didn't take long to come as Tate, still with that insufferable grin on his face, reached behind his back and pulled out from his waistband a handsome silver magnum pistol. He then cocked back the hammer, and aimed the gun straight at Natsuki's chest.

Natsuki heard Shizuru let out a loud gasp, as the Kyoto woman tightly clutched the back of Natsuki's leather jacket.

"That gun has silver bullets in it, doesn't it!" Natsuki demanded as she stepped back slightly, her arm moving out to keep Shizuru safely behind her.

"What else would it have in it, you stupid little bitch. After all the most effective way to kill a vampire besides a stake through the heart, is with a silver bullet. And as I said to you before, this is the night that you die and I take over all that you leave behind...that includes your pretty little human there," Tate answered as he licked his lips ravenously, as his gaze momentarily slipped past Natsuki and onto Shizuru.

Shizuru shrank back slightly at the cruelly-intense look being directed her way, before she heard Natsuki made a furious hissing sound.

"You...fucking...bastard! I'm going to kill you myself right _now_!" Natsuki cried out, as her fury at what Tate implied he would do to Shizuru caused her to strain forward to kill the werewolf where he stood.

But Tate had already anticipated Natsuki's reaction to his words, and his finger was already pulling back on the trigger.

The deafeningly-loud sound of the silver bullet leaving the gun's chamber and existing out the muzzle, caused everyone to freeze...except for one chestnut-haired girl who without thinking...without even mentally registering what her body was doing...shoved herself from behind Natsuki's protective stance, and interposed herself between Natsuki and the shot meant to kill her.

And so it was with horror-filled emerald eyes, that Natsuki watched Shizuru's entire body convulse with the impact on the bullet _slamming_ through her shoulder, into a major blood artery, and passing back out of Shizuru's shoulder to imbed itself into the bark of the tree right by Natsuki's throat.

Natsuki could only stare in stupefied horror as she felt Shizuru's body go slack, and the chestnut-haired girl began to pitch forward, blood pouring like a river from her open wound. Natsuki immediately snapped herself out of her horrified shock, as she quickly reached forward and caught Shizuru's falling form. Then very tenderly, Natsuki placed Shizuru's shuddering body onto the ground, as her pained-green eyes tracked to Shizuru's wound, which was still pouring out its life-sustaining essence.

"Damn stupid bitch jumped in the way of my shot! Well no matter, I still have one more bullet left. And this time 'Queen', I will _not_ miss," Tate said with a sick smile on his face as he cocked the silver magnum once more, and this time aimed the gun straight at Natsuki's head.

However Tate never got the chance to pull the trigger, as a loud shot rang out from behind him. Tate gasped loudly in shocked pain as he looked down, and saw a gaping hole going through his chest where is heart was.

Tate slowly jerked his body around, as he looked and saw two figures standing in the shadows behind him.

One of them was blowing smoke from a gun's muzzle.

"Silver bullet, you fucking prick," Nao said with her sexiest smirk, and Mikoto cheered loudly beside her, as they both watched Tate's eyes roll up into the back of his head, and his body drop like heavy lead to the ground.

Then as Tate's breaths became slower and more erratic, he muttered softly to himself that this was impossible. That he was _not_ supposed to die. That tonight was supposed to be _his_ night. His time...his time...hi...s...time...

And then the werewolf named Tate, Leader of the Kyoto werewolves died where he lay, his last breath slowly fading from his body.

And the werewolf named Takeda for once in his sorry, pitiful life since he'd been turned by Tate almost two decades before, decided to think for himself...and ran...and never once looked back towards the now-cooling body of his former pack leader.

Once Nao was sure that Tate was truly dead, she holstered the gun into the back of her belt, and sauntered slowly towards Natsuki, who was leaning back against the tree trunk, holding Shizuru's gasping and shuddering form tightly in her arms.

Nao stopped once she was in front of the pair, and looked down expressionlessly at them, as Mikoto came scampering over and stopped before the pair also, her expression full of worry.

"Natsuki...Shizuru will be alright...right?" Mikoto asked, as she looked into Natsuki's sorrow-filled face.

Natsuki looked up, and her intensely-shining green eyes looked into Nao's as she spoke. "You came...you killed him...you saved me...why? I thought that you had left, and weren't planning on coming back any time soon," Natsuki said in a broken whisper, as she continued to cradle Shizuru's body against her chest, which was now soaked with Shizuru's still-rapidly escaping blood.

"Tch, well I was planning on leaving, but I really wanted to say goodbye to the kid here first. Mikoto didn't have anything to do with the drama that went down between the rest of us, and she deserved at least a goodbye...and an apology for what I said about her a few days ago. That's when she and I found the note that you had left crumpled on the doorstep, and I went and got my pistol and she and I immediately made our way out here. I...uh...saw that damned human put herself in front of you to stop that bullet...and I can't honestly say that I would have done the same for you, no matter how much and how long we've known each other. Maybe this dumb human isn't as bad as I originally thought she was," Nao answered, as she turned her head away from Natsuki's still-intense stare, as she mumbled out her last sentence.

But them Nao turned equally intense green eyes back towards Natsuki, and said in a harsh whisper, "you know what you have to do now then, if you want to keep her from dying."

Natsuki let out a soft whimper as she lowered her head, and pressed her face against Shizuru's soft chestnut locks.

"But...how can I...how can I do that to her, Nao! I would be turning her into one of _us_...into a...monster," Natsuki trailed off piteously.

"It's either you do it...or you watch her die in your arms," Nao said in a hard yet-not-cruel voice. Mikoto just crouched down beside Shizuru, holding the human girl's hand as she stared worriedly at Natsuki's bowed head.

Natsuki took a deep breath and then slowly released it. She then took another equally deep breath, held it for a second or two longer than the first, and then slowly released it as well.

Then Natsuki's verdant-green eyes rose once again to capture Nao's, and Nao saw a determined fire burning deeply within them.

"I will _not_ allow her to die. Especially since this is all my fault. I promised her that she would come to no further harm because of me. I _promised_ her. And I broke my promise. Shizuru may never forgive me for what I am about to do to her...for what I am about to turn her into...but I will not let her die!" Natsuki cried out, before her teeth went once again full vampiric, and she lowered them towards Shizuru's neck. And then not allowing herself to think any further on her decision, Natsuki sank her teeth fully into Shizuru's neck.

Shizuru's eyes which had been closed previously to this intrusion at her neck, now flashed wide open and her mouth also fell open in a silent pained scream, as her body began to thrash and shake in Natsuki's arms.

Nao looked down at the scene below her for a few more seconds, before she turned on her heels, and began walking away until she vanished back into the night.

Shizuru's body continued to convulse violently, as Natsuki continued to 'change' Shizuru from within, with the power of her vampiric bite. Mikoto continued to hold Shizuru's hand tightly within her smaller hands, her golden cat-like eyes still watching the pair before her worriedly.

Then almost as soon as it had started it all stopped, and Natsuki slowly and carefully pulled her teeth out from Shizuru's now blood-covered neck, and she went back to tenderly cradling the now-still body in her arms.

After what seemed like an eternity to Natsuki, but was actually only a few intensely-silent moments, Mikoto nervously spoke. "Natsuki...what...what happens now...what happens to Shizuru now?" Mikoto asked softly, that ever-present worry never leaving her golden eyes.

Natsuki buried her face once more into Shizuru's chestnut locks, as she whispered very softly back to Mikoto.

"Now we go back to our home, Mikoto...and we wait."

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**AN:** Whoo! I really hope that you all reading this chapter, and _please_ let me know what you thought of it =3

And thank you to all those who took the time to review my last chapter! It is very much appreciated =D


	6. Chapter 6

Shizuru awoke to find herself in a prone position, laying upon what felt like a soft cushiony surface.

Her head was aching horribly, and she had a sharp pain in both her shoulder and her neck. Letting out a light moan at her utter discomfort, Shizuru struggled to open her eyes and that's when she felt a cool cloth being placed on her forehead, and a light touch easing gently down the side of her face.

Slowing opening her eyes, Shizuru was greeted with a darkened room, and an image of someone hovering before her. She blinked her eyelids a few times to try to bring her vision into better focus, and finally she was able to better see who was before her.

It was Natsuki, who was looking down at Shizuru with a highly worried expression on her face, and Shizuru could have sworn she saw a fleeting look of guilt before it quickly vanished, when Natsuki saw that Shizuru was finally awake.

"Natsuki...?" Shizuru lightly croaked out, the pain in her neck flaring up briefly when she spoke, before it settled down into a light throb.

"Shh shh, Shizuru. Don't try to speak just yet. Your neck and throat are going to be sore for a little while longer, so you just rest okay. You're also running a bit of a high fever, so don't try to move around too much right now. I'll watch over you, I swear. You just rest now," Natsuki said with a light swallow, as she tried to avoid looking directly into Shizuru's eyes, as the guilt at what she had done to the chestnut-haired woman before her raged within her.

_It's too early...it's too soon. I can't tell Shizuru what has happened to her yet...I can't reveal that to her right now when she's so sick and weak. Her body is still adjusting to the changes, even though her transformation is complete. Shizuru is...like me now...a creature of the night...a monster...oh, will you ever be able to forgive me for this Shizuru! Because I don't think that I could forgive __**me**__ if I was you_...Natsuki thought mournfully to herself, as she lightly dabbed Shizuru's forehead with the damp cloth again.

Shizuru nodded her head tiredly at Natsuki's request that she get some more rest, and so she closed her crimson eyes and let herself drift off into a slightly agitated sleep.

Natsuki watched Shizuru's resting face for a few more minutes, before she leaned forward and pressed her lips gently against Shizuru's cheek, and then leaned back with a slightly dejected sigh. Then slowly rising to her feet Natsuki made her way out of her bedroom, closing the bedroom door softly behind her.

************

Three days later when her fever had finally broken and she was feeling more alert, Shizuru was sitting up against a pile of pillows on Natsuki's bed.

Natsuki sat on a high chair beside the bed, and she was gently holding Shizuru's hand, lightly running her thumbs across the back of Shizuru's hands.

"Shizuru...there is...there is something that I have to tell you. I didn't want to say anything to you while you were so sick, but now that you're feeling better there's no excuse to postpone saying this any longer," Natsuki said as she looked everywhere but directly into Shizuru's intense ruby eyes.

Natsuki then felt a light squeeze on her hand, and she finally allowed herself to look at Shizuru's face, and what she saw was the other woman giving her a small warm smile.

"It's okay Natsuki. You know that you can tell me anything. So please go on, what is it that you wanted to tell me?" Shizuru asked, as she gave the hands holding hers another light squeeze.

Natsuki felt her throat constrict a bit as it went dry, and she had to clear her throat a couple times before she was able to speak again.

"Well, first off I have to tell you thank you. Thank you for saving my life by doing what you did. I really really _really_ wish that you hadn't decided to do such a reckless thing, and endanger your life like that just for me, but...you _did_ do it...and so I am eternally grateful for you being such an amazingly wonderful and brave person for doing that for me. I am forever in your debt," Natsuki said as she bowed her head slightly to Shizuru.

Natsuki then felt a light touch under her chin, and she felt her head being raised back up to face the mesmerizing view of Shizuru smiling beautifully at her.

"Silly Natsuki, how can you say that you are in my debt, when you have saved me numerous times now. If there is one of us to be in the others debt, then that person would be me. What I did to save you...I honestly can't even say that I knew that I was going to do it. All I remember briefly thinking was that I didn't want you to die...I couldn't allow you to die...and so I stepped before you. I don't...remember much of anything that happened after that besides the excruciating pain in my shoulder, and then later an equally excruciating and also burning pain that started in my neck, and then worked its way throughout my entire body. Then I briefly remember waking up here a few times, feeling hot and intensely miserable, but still soothed as I could feel you always there by my side," Shizuru said with a light smile towards Natsuki.

Natsuki squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds, took some deep calming breaths, before she re-opened her eyes, and gave Shizuru a determined and serious look.

"Shizuru, the thing that I wanted to tell you about...it's kind of...no...it's _very_ hard to say, and I honestly don't know how you're going to react to it. Or if you'll ever forgive me for what I had to do...but...Shizuru...that pain in your neck that you felt on and off over the last few days...I...when you were shot...and you lay there bleeding, slowly dying in my arms...I just couldn't...I had to...I didn't have a choice!" Natsuki exclaimed as she squeezed her eyes shut again, before she took a deep breath and then said what she had to say all in one go.

"Shizuru in order to save your life, to keep you from dying there in my arms...Shizuru...I _bit_ you and turned you into a vampire!"

Dead silence.

There was nothing but utter and complete dead silence from Shizuru, and Natsuki felt the hand in hers stiffen terribly, even though it didn't pull away from her own.

Natsuki dared to open her eyes to see what Shizuru's reaction was, and Natsuki felt her heart break at the utterly-shocked and lost expression on Shizuru's face.

"I...I'm a...I'm a vampire...?" Shizuru asked in a small voice. Natsuki cringed inwardly as she mutely nodded her head.

Shizuru sat silent for a few seconds more, before she lay back against the pillows behind her head, and looked quietly at the ceiling as she processed this new startling revelation. But she never let go of Natsuki's hand the entire time, and Natsuki felt pathetically grateful for that.

Shizuru then took a deep breath and slowly released it, before she looked over and focused her intense crimson gaze back onto Natsuki.

"I guess that means that I can now leap tall buildings in a single bound," Shizuru said in a lightly teasing tone.

Natsuki felt the pressure that she had been under crack a bit, and she couldn't help letting out a small laugh that escaped passed her lips.

Shizuru smiled gently at Natsuki, and lightly squeezed their joined hands again.

"While I _do_ admit that this is quite a bit of a shock, I can see how this happened and why you did what you did. I am not angry or upset with you, Natsuki. You did the only thing that you could do to save me from dying," Shizuru said to Natsuki with a soft smile.

Natsuki let out a loud sigh of relief before she rose to her feet, leaned forward, and gave a slightly-surprised Shizuru a tight hug.

"Thank you, Shizuru...thank you for accepting this. I never _ever_ wanted to hurt you, and making the decision to do what I did was the most painful, and difficult thing that I've had to do in a very very long time. But I just could _not_ let you to die, especially when it was in place of me dying. So thank you again for accepting it all so well," Natsuki whispered into Shizuru's chestnut tresses.

Shizuru raised her hand, and gently began to run her fingers through Natsuki's dark mane. The two stayed like that, pressed close together for a few precious seconds more, before Natsuki leaned back and gave Shizuru a lopsided smile.

"And yes, you can now leap tall buildings in a single bound."

Shizuru let out an amused laugh, which made Natsuki grin as the two of them enjoyed the moment together.

************

Two days later found Shizuru and Natsuki back at Shizuru's home. Shizuru had recovered well enough to travel, and Natsuki had given her a ride back home in her car.

Nao had mysteriously vanished again after the showdown with the werewolves, but Natsuki wasn't worried. She knew that the redheaded vampire was off doing her own thing, also more than likely avoiding Shizuru until she was ready to face that particularly thorny situation. After all Nao had tried to eat Shizuru, so Nao was more than likely laying low in one of her favourite haunts, until she felt it was a good time to come back.

Mikoto had taken to sleeping over at Mai's apartment lately, as the apricot-haired human seemed to be growing more and more attached to the golden-eyed vampire. Natsuki knew she was probably going to have to have a 'talk' with Mikoto soon about the fact that Mai still didn't know that Mikoto was a vampire, and she now knew from _much_ experience that it was best to reveal that secret as soon as possible. But Natsuki decided that she'd handle that particular situation a little later. Right now, she was trying to explain to Shizuru how she would 'feed' or eat from now on.

"It is as you said, Natsuki. I no longer feel...hungry...at least not for human food anymore. Why I don't even really feel for my precious tea anymore," Shizuru said with a sorrowful sigh from her seated position on her living room couch. Natsuki sat beside her, her arm slung lazily along the back of the couch behind Shizuru's head.

Natsuki then leaned forward slowly and reached out with the hand not on the couch, and gently turned Shizuru's face towards hers.

Shizuru's breath caught lightly in her lungs as she was held captive in Natsuki's emerald-eyed gaze, before she heard Natsuki begin to speak softly to her.

"I'm sorry, Shizuru. I know how much you love and enjoy your teas. But even though our bodies no longer require the sustenance that human foods once gave us, we can still enjoy the flavour and taste of eating such foods and drinks. So, you don't have to give up your favourite pastime. And as you know, I quite enjoyed having teatime with you as well," Natsuki said with a light smile, that reached all the way up to her sparkling-green eyes.

Shizuru nodded slightly, as she felt with a small twinge of regret Natsuki's fingers leaving her chin.

"So, I assume that I now have to consume...blood...to sustain my energy and life?" Shizuru said with a slight cringe that did not go unnoticed by Natsuki.

"Yeah sorry, Zuru...this is just how things are for us now," Natsuki said with a sympathetic smile, as she played lightly with Shizuru's silken tresses using the hand that was laying on the back of the couch.

"I know that you don't...attack humans to drink their blood, so how do you survive?" Shizuru asked with a curious tilt of her head, as she resisted the urge to shiver lightly at the feel of Natsuki's fingers running smoothly through her hair.

"Oh, I just go to one of the many blood banks that are hidden around Fuuka, Kyoto, and the surrounding provinces and cities. There is an entire underground network that caters to every kind of creature out there. Vampires, werewolves, and most other supernatural entity that you can think of that's out there." Here Natsuki stopped for a minute, as she took in Shizuru's wide-eyed crimson gaze.

"You mean to tell me that there are other things out there besides us that are real? Things that indeed do go 'bump in the night', and that I have always thought were mere figments of the human's overactive imagination, are in fact real?" Shizuru asked, as a perfectly arched eyebrow slowly rose upward.

Natsuki let out a loud laugh, before she quickly caught her breath and replied. "Yes Shizuru, they are quite real. As real as you and I are," Natsuki replied with a light teasing smile.

Shizuru felt a light blush dust across her cheeks, as she opened her mouth to reply. "Well, yes I can see now that if _we_ certainly exist, other beings would also. So tell me Natsuki...what other creatures are out there that go bump in the night like us?" Shizuru asked as she quickly recovered her composure, and returned Natsuki's teasing grin.

Natsuki let out another laugh, as she leaned forward and lightly poked Shizuru's nose. "That is for _me_ to know and for you to someday I'm sure, find out. After all we _are_ eternal beings. We can live for an eternity if nothing ends our lives, like those pathetic werewolves tried to do with those silver bullets.

"Meanie Natsuki, I want to know," Shizuru said as an adorable pout came to her lips, and Natsuki _just_ resisted leaning forward and capturing those pouty lips with her own mouth.

_Ooo, bad thoughts Natsuki. __**Bad**__. Resist. You must resist,_ Natsuki fervently told herself, until the urge to lean forward passed.

"So, just how old are you, Natsuki?" Shizuru was asking the distracted cobalt-haired vampire, with that cute way of tilting her head to the side in curiosity that she had.

_**Resist!**_ Natsuki cried out to herself again.

"Oh me? Well, I was turned about 300 years ago," Natsuki answered, as she tried swiftly to get her thoughts back in order.

Shizuru's mouth fell open slightly, and Natsuki almost had a small heart attack as she wrestled with herself to not just lean forward, and close those delectable lips with her own.

_Ugh...now that Shizuru is like me...and I no longer have to worry about the fact that she is a human that would be consorting with a vampire, it is __**extremely**__ hard to quell my feelings for her. Ugh. I'm just going to have to be stronger about it that's all. The very last thing that Shizuru needs to deal with after being turned into the living dead, is me burdening her with unwanted feelings,_ Natsuki said to herself with a stifled sigh.

"Ara ara, that is _quite_ a long time to be alive, Natsuki. Were you alone during all of that time?" Shizuru asked with a soft look in her eyes.

"I was for about the first 200 years. Then I met...and 'saved' Nao...and I have known her for the last 100 years. Mikoto was turned by Nao fifty years after we met, so Mikoto has been with us for the last 50 years."

"Ara, such long years. It's a little hard to envision living anywhere near that long, but you must have seen and done so many things during that time, Natsuki," Shizuru said with a little excited jump in her seat, as her wine-coloured eyes sparkled at Natsuki.

Natsuki gave a little laugh as she replied. "Yes, yes I've had quite an...interesting...life," Natsuki said with a slightly roguish grin, as she wiggled her eyebrows teasingly at Shizuru.

Shizuru let out a light giggle at Natsuki's antics before she suddenly **stopped**, a strange look appearing on her face, and her burgundy-red eyes seeming to darken even further, until they were near the colour of blood.

Natsuki felt a shiver race down her spine, as she recognized the look in Shizuru's eyes.

"Natsuki..." Shizuru said hesitantly, as she looked up at Natsuki with a slightly confused, yet hungry look on her face.

"Natsuki...I'm...hungry...I need...I need to _eat_," Shizuru continued haltingly, as she slowly began to rise from her seat with a dazed, almost-possessed look on her face.

"No. No, Shizuru! This is the blood-lust talking! Damn me for forgetting that you haven't 'eaten' since the incident with the werewolves. You've just been so sick as your body fully adapted to its new changes. But I was going to take you to a blood bank tonight! Fight it, Shizuru! You don't know how to control your feeding impulses yet. Fight it!" Natsuki cried into Shizuru's face, as she has also risen swiftly to her feet, and was now lightly shaking the chestnut-haired woman before her to try to snap her out of her feeding craze.

"Natsuki...blood...I _need_...I must have...Natsuki...I need the blood!" Shizuru cried out, as with a powerful backhand that Natsuki knew came from Shizuru's vampiric powers _truly_ awakening, Shizuru knocked Natsuki off to the side, and the dark-haired woman went flying over the back of Shizuru's couch.

By the time that Natsuki had struggled quickly back up to her feet, for Shizuru's hit had been wickedly powerful, the chestnut-haired woman was nowhere to be seen, and her front door was hanging off of its hinges.

"Her power...it's so strong," Natsuki said to herself in dismay at the damage that Shizuru had caused, and worst the damage that she was about to further cause on the human population, if Natsuki didn't stop her quickly.

"Damn it, Shizuru. Damn it!" Natsuki cried out as she quickly raced through Shizuru's open front door, slamming it back shut the best that she could. She then sped off into the night, following the swiftly vanishing 'scent' of Shizuru, as the tawny-haired vampire set off to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting humans of Fuuka.

**

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**AN:** Whoo! Another chapter done! =D

I hope that you all enjoyed it, and THANK YOU for your reviews of my last chapter =3

Every time that I think that I will not post for a couple of weeks, your wonderful reviews motivate me to get the next chapter out in a few days :p

So, please help keep that motivation flowing and continue to review =D


	7. Chapter 7

*peeks at the date...and whistles*

Wow. It's been almost 2 years since I last updated this story. So much has happened during that time in my life. At one point I wasn't even sure I'd ever be able to find the inspiration to write again, much less continue writing for all my unfinished stories. But thankfully I've managed to work through a lot of stuff in my life, and I'm ready again to try to work on and _complete_ all of former work. I did my best to pick up from the original thread of thought/story ideas I had for this fic, and I hope that you will now all enjoy the continuation of...

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**Queen of the Night**

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Shizuru found herself jumping from rooftop to rooftop, the _blood-urge_ rushing through her, causing her teeth to elongate as the desire to feed on human blood sang through her vampiric veins.

It was thrilling. It was amazing.

It was utter madness, and Shizuru could _not_ find it within herself to **stop**.

She was _not_ bloodthirsty creature. She should _not_ be craving the sweet, succulent taste of another's warm blood. But the power and seductive urgings of the vampire within her was not taking **no** for an answer. And so Shizuru continued on her way, her feet light as a feather as she soared from building to building. The small, human part left in her mind allowed her to be dazzled despite herself, with the fact that she was soaring high among the night-time clouds like no normal human ever could.

Shizuru had a destination in mind. A place that the still-human part of her knew well, and was unwillingly leading her vampiric side to.

_Fuuka University._

Most of the students were asleep and inside their dorms at this time of night, but there was always _one_ person who was out this late, going out for a jog around the campus.

Shizuru felt a malevolent smile spread across her lips, and the small human part of her cringed in horror, as it was not an expression that usually crossed her usually serene features.

Shizuru jumped from a nearby building into a small grove of trees, that stood near the walkway that meandered around the campus.

Then she waited.

_Why mindlessly attack people on the street, when she could sink her newly-gained vampiric teeth into the neck of someone she knew,_ her vampiric mind thought to itself. It would make her first feeding all the more...sweeter...if it was with someone she had good relations with. Somehow Shizuru's vampiric mind, though so newly _turned_, instinctually knew that the victim's blood would be 'tastier' if there were good feelings towards the vampire coursing through the victim's body. If it were a total stranger who would be apprehensive at suddenly meeting her, the blood would be bitter and not as palatable.

So Shizuru continued to wait in the branches of the tree, as a lone figure in a grey jogging suit began coming closer. There were light posts set up every quarter-mile or so, and as the figure moved closer to Shizuru's hiding spot, the newly-turned vampire moved in the blink of an eye, jumped forward, hit the bulb of the light, and doused the area into total blackness.

The blond-haired young woman who had been jogging along the path stopped immediately, as the light blew out and the area around her fell into a unsettling, deep darkness. She looked about herself trying to hide the sudden nervousness she felt, before she took a hesitant step forward to begin hurrying to the next light post. But just as she was about to start quickly jogging forward, a dark figure stepped out from the trees that lined the side of the path.

The blond jogger immediately called out to the dark figure before her. "Hey, you there! What are you doing?"

"Hello, Haruka. Lovely night to be out for a little stroll," Shizuru's velvety-sweet voice called out to her friend and fellow classmate, as the honey-haired girl swayed her way slowly forward. The faint light of the moon outlined her form and Haruka watched with an unaccustomed shiver, as her friend's blood-red eyes seemed to almost glow with a feral light as the moon's light hit them.

"Shizuru! What are you doing out here like this? Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack, you crazy woman," Haruka asked with a slight scowl, as she began to move forward towards her friend.

Shizuru felt the malevolent smile on her face grow, hidden away from her innocently-approaching friend by the shadows that still surrounded them.

Then just as Haruka came within easy touching distance of Shizuru, and the brunette felt the teeth in her mouth begin to lengthen, and her mouth begin to salivate for her first taste of human blood, another dark shadow seemed to drop down and placed itself between the two friends.

Shizuru blinked her russet-red eyes, and the human part of her went weak with relief as it recognized Natsuki's powerful yet graceful form, standing between her and Haruka.

_Thank you, Natsuki. Oh gods, thank you. Please **stop** me, Natsuki...I can't...I can't make myself stop...please help me...,_ Shizuru whimpered to herself in the small corner of her mind, her vampiric self had regulated her to.

"Shizuru, stop this! You can't do this. This isn't _you_. I never thought that your...'other' side would take such strong control over you like this. Shizuru, you _have_ to fight this!" Natsuki pleaded desperately, with the chestnut-haired girl she has sworn to protect.

_And such a 'good' job I'm doing of protecting her. I'm supposed to be keeping her safe from harm, yet all I've done is bring harm to her through others around me. I **will** stop her now from hurting others...and herself...because Shizuru would **never** forgive herself if she were to take a human life...and I'd never forgive me for letting her do it...,_ Natsuki thought to herself as she placed her back to the blond-haired girl behind her, and faced Shizuru with her arms outstretched and blocking the brunette's path.

Haruka stood looking in confusion between her friend and this strange new girl, who had seemed to drop in before her from the sky above. Haruka opened her mouth to _demand_ an explanation when her cellphone, clipped onto the side of her jogging pants, went off. The sudden sound startled all three women, and Haruka felt a twinge of annoyance flash through her as she reached for her phone to answer. She had _really_ wanted to question Shizuru about what the hell was going on, but Haruka knew from the ringtone that the caller was her lover, Yukino. The brown-haired girl never liked the fact that Haruka liked to go out jogging so late at night, and so would call periodically to make sure that her headstrong girlfriend was alright.

Haruka was now beginning to think that maybe she should have listened to Yukino's constant words of worry about her being out so late, because the situation the lavender-eyed girl now found herself in was just _too_ weird for her tastes.

"Listen Shizuru, I'm not sure what weird crazy little game you had planned for tonight, but I want no part in it. I'm leaving. You and your strange new...friend...can continue whatever game you're both playing," Haruka said as she waved off the other two females before her, turned, and began jogging back towards her and Yukino's shared dorm.

Shizuru's features morphed into one of rage, as she stepped forward to go after her escaping prey.

Natsuki immediately stepped forward, wrapped her strong arms around Shizuru's arms and waist, and with a powerful _heave_ jumped with the struggling girl in her arms, back into the heavy cover of the trees.

Haruka felt a sudden cool breeze blow by her, and she turned around briefly to see the now-empty spot that Shizuru and the stranger had been standing mere moments before. Haruka felt a brief shiver run down her spine and as she continued to make her way back to her dorm, she couldn't shake the feeling that she had just escaped from something that she _really_ wouldn't have wanted to be a part of.

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Natsuki continued to hold Shizuru tightly against her body, doing her best to ignore the pounding her chest was receiving from Shizuru's hands, or the stray strike against her cheek as Shizuru's nails cut across her cheek. The cuts would heal soon enough. Accelerated healing abilities among her kind were just one of their special abilities besides increased speed, inhuman strength, and a number of others. Right now even though Shizuru had all of these special powers and abilities coursing through her vampiric body, she was still very new to them. She was like a newborn with her power. She had taken Natsuki by surprise back at Shizuru's home, when she had back-handed the dark-haired vampire so strongly. But Natsuki had been a powerful vampire for almost 300 years. She had long ago fully grown into her power and strength, and knew how to easily handle one who was still getting used to the intoxicating power, that courses through one's body after they are first 'turned'. It was why she'd had so much trouble with Nao when she had first turned the redhead. But Natsuki had never dreamed that the usually calm and serene Shizuru, would also be so greatly affected by her new vampire side.

_I fucked up. I **should** have seen this all coming. I should have anticipated Shizuru's vampiric nature taking over fully like this. All I can do now though is try to calm her, give her some of the blood I have stored at the mansion, and hope that she returns to her...normal self,_ Natsuki thought to herself as she finally arrived at her mansion, and dropped down before the front door. The door swung open immediately to reveal Mikoto's worried face. Natsuki swiftly brought Shizuru inside and sat down on the couch in the living room, with the brunette still wrapped tightly in her strong arms. Shizuru had almost stopped struggling at this point, her body beginning to grow weak from the lack of 'nutrients' it so desperately craved.

Mikoto suddenly appeared before Shizuru, and help up a cup filled to the brim with the 'essence' of their vampiric lives. She tilted the cup up to Shizuru's lips, and watched as the newly-turned vampire registered the sweet life-giving taste of blood, and began deeply drinking down the dark red liquid.

Once Shizuru drained the cup, Mikoto put it down and raised another full cup to Shizuru's reddened lips. This continued on until Shizuru finally rejected the cup she was drinking from, by pushing back on it with her lips and lightly shaking her head. Mikoto lowered the cup to the ground, and pulled a cloth she had waiting to use from her pocket, and gently wiped Shizuru's lips clean.

Shizuru was whimpering softly and leaning heavily against Natsuki's chest, and the raven-haired woman could do nothing more than to continue holding Shizuru tightly against her, and place a soft kiss against her temple.

_I'll take care of you, Shizuru. I **swear** it. I'll always be here to care for you...  
_

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Sunlight barely streamed in through the heavily-blind covered windows. Shizuru blearily opened her eyes and looked up at the darkened ceiling, feeling a kind of cloggy dryness in her throat. She opened her eyes further and tried to move, but was held solidly in placed by something wrapped tightly around her waist. Shizuru turned tired burgundy eyes to her right, and was presented with a sight that caused a soft smile to slip across her lips.

Natsuki lay next to her on the bed she was on, soft tendrils of her midnight-blue hair falling over her slumbering face, lightly tickling her lips as soft puffs of air blew the strands gently up and down.

Shizuru traced Natsuki's features tenderly for a few seconds, before she leaned forward the best she could, and softly placed a kiss against the tip of Natsuki's nose.

Natsuki's nose wrinkled lightly, and the ebony-haired woman grunted slightly in her sleep, before snuggling Shizuru's body closer against her own.

Shizuru smiled widened at the adorable sight, and then she allowed her eyelids to slip slowly shut. There would be time later to deal with the repercussions of all that she had done last night, which she remembered with shame-filled clarity.

For right now all she wanted to do was sleep here...held protectively and tenderly in Natsuki's arms.

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Please review ^_^


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